The Beginning of Happily Ever After!

Oh what a glorious, wonderful, God honoring day June 2nd, 2012 was!!! Just thinking about that day makes me smile! It was completely and totally AMAZING! So many memories were made that will NEVER be forgotten! There were moments of laughter, tears, prayer, hugs, and knowing looks...and through it all God's presence was there blessing in a marvelous way as He brought one of His son's and daughter together as one! In this post I'm going to share just a tidbit of that amazing day with you! Please don't make fun of my lack of pictures to document the ceremony...I got these pictures from Anna and forget to get very many good ones of the ceremony! However I have LOTS of other good pictures to make up for that! So take a minute and come with me to Harlan, Iowa on a gorgeous day in June when everything is rich green with the bright freshness of spring, the temperature is just perfect, and a breeze is gently blowing! What an AWESOME God we serve!

My BEST FRIEND FOREVER, sister and stunning bride!

Love this girl! She's simply gorgeous!

~Thoughtful~

Iowa Farm Girl!

The dashing groom

Best Friends Forever and ever and ever!! Love this girl! <3

Farm girls...

and proud of it! :)

Sisters -- It was a blast getting to be a bridesmaid with my big sis' Abi!

Sassy looks! Lol

The bride and three Dutch bridesmaids...blonde hair and blue eyed! :) The cute blonde on the far right is my cousin Dianna. Her and Anna have been called Siamese cousins ever since they were little because they ALWAYS had to be TOGETHER! :)

The groomsmen and the bride

The Bridesmaids and the groom

Groomsmen and groom

The Wedding Party

My proud parents with their daughter and soon to be son-in-law!

This picture CRACKS ME UP!!! I think Anna's freaking out a little bit about getting kissed on BOTH cheeks!!!!! :)

The definition of adorable...the flower girls! Aaron and Anna's nieces Elise Beasley and Joanna Wissmann

Joanna giving Aunt Anna a kiss! <3

The siblings -- Love them SO MUCH!

Josiah and Abi's ADORABLE little family!

The darling parents of the bride! :)

Joanna and cousin Deborah reading books together in the bridesmaid's room...SO CUTE! <3

GORGEOUS, beyond happy, glowing bride!

My AMAZING Daddy, always there to give a hug when you need one! Love you SO MUCH dad! <3

Our precious prayer time before the ceremony

Walking the bride down the isle...take DEEP breathes dad! :)

The adoring groom...waiting!

Giving his little Czech girl away...and yep he did tear up during this part...it was SO SWEET though!

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Grady!

Cousin hugs immediately follow the ceremony...a must! :)

After wedding shots --

Don't they look perfect together?! :)

The Reception -- Our lovely and accomplished cousin Deborah providing some piano music.

Kissing under the archway! :)

Cutting the cake!

Feeding it to each other oh so politely...

but you've got to watch out for the after attack! :) Lol

I was honored to be able to give the maid of honor speech! Both Aaron and Anna have meant SO MUCH to me through the years and made a HUGE investment in my life! I look forward to the MANY more memories we will make together with them as a happy couple! Dianna livening things up with funny memories from the past and future wishes of many blessings!

The bride and groom taking their turn at the microphone! :)

Aaron and Anna's AMAZING photographer Abby Martin -- ALL photo credits go to her!

The groom and the Siamese Cousins! :)

The bride and groom and our AMAZING Aunt Karol who came ALL the way from Seattle Washington to attend the wedding! We love you Aunt Karol! <3

The bride and groom and our INCREDIBLE reception cordinaters Samuel and Nicole Lyon! You guys were GREAT! Thanks SO MUCH!

Signing the marriage license

The bouquet toss...look out girls it's going WAY BACK! That Iowa farm girl's got quite the arm! :)

The Frisbee toss...hit the golf course boys this groom knows how to throw a Frisbee! :)

Leaving...

Here comes the truck! Surprise, surprise Aaron and Anna! :) They had the truck hidden and did not intend for us to decorate it, but they should have known better! Somebody, who shall remain nameless, found it and the Rehm Ranch clan did the truck up quite nicely! Hahaha! :)

The well decorated masterpiece! :)

Goodbye hugs...sniff, sniff!!!

Kissing in the truck! <3

And they're off with a roar!

Wow! What a day! How beautiful it was to watch our God work in such an incredible way! The weather was perfect, friends and family joined with us to celebrate, and God was glorified! How amazing it was to watch Aaron and Anna say their vows to each other with such passionate devotion and love coating their every word, and then to think this IS how Christ is commited to us and how we in return should wholeheartedly be committed to Him! Oh to meditate on how wonderful and full of joy their wedding day was and to think of that day when Christ's bride will be joined to Him and we'll be caught up in a love story that NEVER ends!

When thinking of a way to put this indescribable day into words this passage of scripture came to mind...

5 Who is like the Lord our God,

the one who sits enthroned on high,

6 who stoops down to look

on the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

8 He seats them with princes,

with princes of His people.

9 He settles the childless woman in her home

as a happy mother of children

Praise the Lord.

This passage of scripture reminds me that we serve a God who uses weak and broken people to accomplish His perfect plan! We may stumble, falter and fall down, but we serve a God who picks up the broken pieces of our lives and makes something beautiful, if our lives our fully yielded to Him! It was SO BEAUTIFUL to see God do just that with the lives of two people who are FULLY yielded to Him! I can't wait to see "Happily Ever After" unfold!